Learning to Love
by Christa no Akisame
Summary: Sesshoumaru has learned caring when he was followed by Rin. But still he has yet to learn how to love and notice some of the finer things in life. When Rin is put into danger, someone will appear which will teach him all this and more. Chapter 3 up!
1. Peaceful Journey

Rin looked up at the sky, it was such a beautiful shade of blue today. She hummed a children's song as she skipped along happily beside her guardian, Sesshoumaru, randomly picking flowers. If she found one that was particularly beautiful, she would not touch it. Instead, she would tug on his sleeve and smile and point towards the blossom, exclaiming in awe.

"Look, Sesshoumaru-sama! Isn't that flower beautiful?" She would say, her eyes fixing upon him in a look of adoration.

And Sesshoumaru would glance at it expressionlessly and nod, continuing on his way. And Rin would continue her humming.

Sesshoumaru glanced at the child by his side, why did it matter to her that one flower was more beautiful than another? So much so that she had to tell him of it? He looked at the flowers growing, but could not see why the child loved them so. The simple beauty of a flower was lost on him. Why? Because it did not matter to him. It was not in his nature.

But neither was it in his nature to love and care for humans. Or so he had thought.

But the little girl next to him was a reminder that he had indeed done so. Cared for her at the very least. Why? In the beginning, he could have passed it off as gratitude for her kindness. That it was his duty since he himself had brought her to life with the Tenseiga. Now there was something more. Caring. How unlike him.

Sesshoumaru had never before cared for anyone. Except his father, but it was mostly respect that prompted him to do so.

Tenseiga, a sword he had deemed as useless. It made him save a human and made him feel something he was reluctant to. Maybe it had even made him _love._

He had no need of love. He did not need love to kill. He did not need love to conquer. He did not need love to attain and surpass his father's level of power.

Sometimes he himself suspected that he had no heart at all before meeting Rin. Or if he had one, it had been made of cold stone. In fact, maybe he preferred it that way. Life was a little less complicated without much emotion.

Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru, unaware of what he was thinking. Then, a fluttering of wings caught her eye. A pretty little butterfly! She thought and stopped to watch it, causing Jaken to crash headlong into her. The both of them tumbled to the ground, and Jaken landed in a most undignified heap.

"Y-you stupid child!" Jaken raged at Rin, who stuck her tongue out at him. "You bumped into Rin first." She said sulkily and pouted, which only served to make Jaken even more furious. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" He complained, "This horrible child is causing me trouble!" Suddenly, Rin began to giggle. The sight of an angry Jaken, hopping from foot to foot and covered head to toe in dust from his fall and waving the Nintoujou at her was too funny. Plus not to mention what he was sputtering incoherently.

Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly. There went his peaceful and silent walk. He turned and fixed Jaken with a death glare. "Stop that noise and get moving," he growled, then turned to Rin. "Rin, ride on Ahun in case you fall again." Rin clambered onto the two-headed dragon thing and sat there in silence. She did not want to irritate Sesshoumaru-sama again. Jaken muttered a few words under his breath, then picked up Ahun's reins and sulked. Sesshoumaru turned his back to them again and they resumed their journey to who-knows-where. Peaceful (Somewhat peaceful anyhow) silence now reigned among them again.


	2. Events and a fall

Christa: walks in with Kanna and Sesshoumaru-sama Now, Kanna, disclaimer please!

Kanna: … does nothing

Christa: glares Kanna….

Kanna: …

Christa: sigh Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama, you'll have to do the disclaimer then.

Sesshoumaru: And why should I?

Christa: Because you are a main character. TT Just do it, for kami's sake!

Sesshoumaru: … Christa does not own Inuyasha or any other characters. All of this belongs to The Powers That Be, aka Rumiko Takahashi..

---

Night fell, bringing a list mist that slightly obscured everyone's vision. The air became colder and colder. Soon, Rin began to shiver, but did not want to say anything in case she irritated Sesshoumaru-sama. Jaken noticed but did not care, merely uttering a sound of disgust and ignoring her. Finally, it grew so cold that Rin was forced to speak up.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I-I'm cold…" She said softly.

Sesshoumaru turned and glanced at the poor girl, then lead them to the base of a large tree. "Then we shall camp here for tonight." He replied. "Jaken, build a fire," He ordered, pointing a clawed finger at him. Jaken grumbled but said nothing else, busying himself with gathering firewood. Rin ran off to help Jaken, thinking that some exercise would help to warm her up. Besides, she felt slightly sorry for Jaken.

Sesshoumaru was left alone with Ah-Un. Not that he minded. He looked around, eyeing the surrounding area. They seemed to be surrounded by several tall trees, all of which were probably at least a hundred years old. They were set at quite a distance from each other. It looked like Jaken and Rin would have to travel quite a bit to get firewood. Sesshoumaru frowned. Jaken had better not let Rin get endangered. Or else… he might…

Wait.

Why was he so concerned over a mere human? Did she really matter to him so much? Maybe. Maybe… But he would not ponder about this tonight. His mind was tired already very tired of that subject.

---

"Jaken-sama! Wait for me!" Rin shouted at Jaken. It was very dark in that area, she couldn't see very well and felt somewhat frightened. Jaken turned and glared at Rin furiously. "Quiet you stupid child! There are other youkai wandering around the forest at night! Do you want to get eaten?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama will save me if anything happens." Rin replied with complete faith in Sesshoumaru. Jaken just looked even more annoyed. Rin smiled at him and put a finger to her lips, "Okay, Jaken-sama. Rin will be very, very quiet." She said. Jaken snorted and began to gather up sticks and twigs, helped diligently by Rin.

Several moments passed uneventfully, although there were a few uneasy glances mostly given by Rin. Something in the shadows moved, and Rin, noticed it. Curious as ever, she began to walk towards the source of the movement. _Eh? What's that_? She thought.

The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed by a pair of birdlike feet, complete with razor sharp claws. A huge crow youkai had seen her and had decided that it wanted Rin for a late night snack. "Jaaaaken-saaamaaa!" She screamed in fright, struggling to get free from the grip that the giant crow had on her.

Jaken saw the huge crow and paled. _Oh no_, he thought. _If Sesshoumaru-sama sees that I let Rin get hurt, my life will be gone before I can even say anything!_ With these cheerful thoughts, Jaken tried to use the Nintoujou to get the bird to release Rin, to no avail.

"Help me!!! SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!!!!!" Rin screamed even louder and struggled even harder as the crow began to fly away, tired of dodging the flames from Jaken's staff.

---

Sesshoumaru had just begun to sit down on the grass and relax when suddenly there was a high-pitched scream. Rin?! He thought, feeling alarmed, and immediately began to move towards the scream as fast as he could. He arrived in the area where Jaken and Rin were, only to hear Rin shriek his name out loud while being clutched in a bird youkai's claws, which was starting to fly away. He cursed himself for letting Rin go off with Jaken and went in pursuit of the crow.

---

"Sesshoumaru-samaaaaaaa!!!!" Rin screamed again. By now, the crow had begun to get heartily sick of her voice and flew off the edge of a nearby cliff, threatening to drop Rin if she would not shut up and keep quiet. Unfortunately, Rin wouldn't listen.

"SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!!!!" she shrieked again, causing the crow to flinch and start reminding himself that he would have to go hungry if he dropped her. Focusing on that cheerful thought, the crow increased its speed.

Only to be hit straight in the back by Sesshoumaru's whip.

It uttered a squawk of surprise, and turned to see Sesshoumaru standing on the edge of the cliff, eyeing it balefully. In its clawed grip, Rin screamed again.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!!" She cried out, struggling violently once more.

The crow squawked and snapped. "She's MY prey!!" It screamed out at Sesshoumaru. Caught up in its rage and instincts to protect its spoils, it ignored the fact that Sesshoumaru was probably a hundred times stronger than it was.

Sesshoumaru did not care. He raised the whip again and brought it down.

The crow sensed its impending doom. Before the whip came down upon it, it released Rin from its grip, deciding that if it cold not eat her, then no one else would have anything to do with her again.

Rin, suddenly found herself falling, and falling. "Sesshoumaru-sama!!!" she screamed desperately, "HELP!!!" She stretched out a hand, trying to reach out to the fading image of him. No use. She fell on and on, until everything went black.

The whip sliced through the crow, and it uttered a triumphant squawk, the last sound it ever made as it died and its body began to disintegrate.

All that had occurred in the passage of a few seconds. Even though it seemed that time had slowed down to allow for this to happen.

---

Sesshoumaru looked down over the edge of the cliff, his keen eyes desperately searching for any sign of Rin. He cursed himself for letting her fall, for not being fast enough. _Damn it all. _He thought.

This girl… what was she to him? He could just leave her possible dead self and just go on his way, but he would not. The very idea of her being dead upset and disturbed his usually emotionless self. Something he was not very used to. But it did not matter now.

A tentative call made him turn around. Jaken quivered, standing some distance away from him. Sesshoumaru unsheathed Toukijin, and Jaken began to stammer and mumble, pleading desperately for forgiveness. He put the edge of the blade to Jaken's throat and smiled a wicked smile.

"Get Ah-Un, we are going to look for Rin." He ordered.

Jaken hurriedly got to his feet, thankful that his life had been spared…. For now. But it seemed like he spoke too soon.

"Oh and Jaken?" Sesshoumaru said, still smiling the somewhat creepy smile. "If we find Rin and she isn't alive…." He paused, savoring Jaken's look of pure fright.

"I will personally make sure that your death is slow… and painful." He continued, "Now go."

Jaken dashed off to comply with Sesshoumaru's orders, he already had much to be thankful for and did not want to incur his lord's wrath any further.

---

Author's note: Yay! Chapter two is up! If you read this and you think its good, please review! And tell your friends to read and review as well! I'll give all reviewers cookies!


	3. The murder of Rin's helper

Christa: sighing over a picture of Sesshoumaru-sama

Sesshoumaru: … Could you not do that? Its disturbing me.

Christa: Think of it as a compliment.

Sesshoumaru: … No.

Naraku: I'm a bishounen too. And I'm pretty sure that you think I'm good-looking… so why won't you sigh over me? sad look Am I really that hateful?

Christa: There, there Naraku. Do my disclaimer for me and I'll stick a picture of you up on my wall.

Naraku: Really? Yes! cries tears of joy

Sesshoumaru: Naraku, you are acting really out of character…. Did Akisame do something to you?

Christa: Christa! My name is Christa! sobs

Naraku: … Inuyasha does NOT belong to Christa no Akisame, all of it belongs to the great goddess Rumiko.

---

Sometime later….

Kagami made her way down to the river near her home, which was a sheltered cave which had once been occupied by a troublesome fox demon. But she had chased it out and vanquished it, noticing its convenient location. And there she had lived, ever since that unfortunate incident had happened. Kagami shook her head, she would not think of that today. It was early morning and the sun was shining. The birds were chirping and everything seemed bright and happy and peaceful.

As she neared the river bank, the very idea of everything being peaceful was instantly erased from her mind. Something was floating in the middle of the water, and Kagami immediately stiffened. _Eh? What's that? _She thought, looking at it suspiciously. It didn't seem to be moving, just bobbing up and down on the water. She moved nearer and her eyes widened in surprise. _That… that… is.. a human?!_

She stepped into the water, and picked it up. _A human girl… _She thought, wondering what could have happened to the little girl. There weren't any humans living in the area, and the nearest village was many miles off. _I wonder if she's still breathing…_

Kagami touched the girl's face, then checked to see if she was still alive. She felt cold, and hung limply in Kagami's arms. But she was still breathing, at the very least. It had been so long she had since she had seen a human. Now was not the time for her to take her morning wash. She had to take care of this little girl.

She moved out of the water, carrying the girl in a firm but gentle grip as she began a brisk walk back to her cave.

---

Sesshoumaru moved quickly, past trees and hills, following the faint trail of Rin's scent. He had delayed long enough while flying down the cliff. Now he had to hurry, for Rin's chances of survival might be decreasing any minute or second. With a trembling Jaken trailing behind, desperately trying to keep up with his lord while keeping Ah-Un under control, Sesshoumaru flashed in and out of sight. Such was his speed and sense of urgency.

Soon, they came to a river, and Sesshoumaru stopped dead in his tracks, causing Jaken to trip and crash onto the ground as he tried not to bang into Sesshoumaru's foot. The source of Rin's scent is here. Sesshoumaru noted, if they followed this river downstream, eventually, they might find Rin.

Be she dead or alive.

Sesshoumaru frowned, and hoped. Hoped that what he would find was not just a body, but Rin, alive and whole. It would indeed be in Jaken's best interests to start praying right now.

---

"Sesshoumaru-sama…" Rin mumbled in her awakening state, and moved slightly. She opened her eyes, and blinked once or twice, her vision still blurry and feeling rather disoriented after her fall. She looked to her right, and saw someone with silver hair standing near her.

Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin thought, trying to sit up. The silver-haired person came over and put a cool hand onto her warm forehead and Rin's vision cleared. She stared at the person's face. Green eyes. This person had green eyes. And "he" was a she. She was definitely NOT Sesshoumaru-sama. Rin started and moved backwards.

"Who are you? Where's Sesshoumaru-sama??!" Rin squeaked in fright, noticing that the lady had two green stripes on her cheeks and claws on her fingers. _Was she a bad youkai? _Rin worried, hoping that she wouldn't be eaten.The lady moved closer and smiled kindly at Rin, which reassured her slightly but still did not make her feel any less alarmed.

"Calm down girl. I'm not going to eat you." She said, laughing little at Rin's fearful face. "My name is Kagami, what's yours?" The lady, no, **Kagami **asked.

"I'm Rin. Nice to meet you, Kagami-sama." Rin answered, no longer feeling afraid. She looked around, noticing that she was in a cave, and a rather nice and dry one at that. But where was Sesshoumaru-sama? Did he leave her here? Rin began to panic. "Where am I? What am I doing here? Are you a youkai? Where's Sesshoumaru-sama?" She blurted out.

"Here, calm down." Kagami patted her on the head. "You are in a cave, which is my home. You were unconscious when I found you so I brought you here to recuperate, yes I am a youkai. And I'm sorry, but I have no idea who Sesshoumaru-sama is. What happened to you anyway?"

"I fell from a cliff." Rin replied, beginning to relax. She looked at Kagami and felt rather curious. "Excuse me, but what sort of youkai are you Kagami-sama?"

"Well… I'm a sort of shape shifter." She answered, feeling uncomfortable under the girl's gaze. "But never mind about me," She said, quickly changing the subject. "Who is this Sesshoumaru-sama you speak off?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama is a youkai too! He's very, very powerful!" Rin smiled. "He has long white hair, golden eyes, pick stripes on his cheeks and a crescent moon on his forehead! He wears armor, and carries a fluffy boa on his right shoulder. He also has two swords with him. But I think he doesn't like one of them though…" She paused in her rambling to think about what she had missed out. "Oh yeah! He can fly too!"

Kagami listened bemusedly as the little girl rambled on and on. She had NOT bargained for a full description of his looks and abilities when she had asked that question. This Sesshoumaru person must mean a lot to Rin. "Is Sesshoumaru-sama your father? What is he like?" She asked, feeling rather interested.

"Iie, Sesshoumaru-sama is not Rin's father." Rin replied. "But he's very nice to Rin! But he's not very nice to some people…. Sesshoumaru-sama can be very scary when he is angry."

"Does Rin want to return to Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kagami inquired.

Rin nodded vigorously. "Hai! Rin must return to Sesshoumaru-sama! Wherever he goes, Rin will follow!"

Kagami smiled again. The little girl was so cute. "Very well, then, Kagami will take Rin back to Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rin's eyes widened and she threw her arms around Kagami and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much Kagami-sama!"

Kagami removed the girl's arms and began to mutter a spell. A white mist descended on her and wrapped itself around her. The mist slowly faded away and in her place, there was a large, fluffy white bird about the size of Ah-Un.

Rin blinked. Then hugged the bird. Tightly. "So cute and fluffy!" She squealed in delight, nearly cutting off Kagami's air supply.

Kagami choked. _Need… air_.. She wheezed and wriggled out of the girl's grasp in a rather undignified way. "Here. Climb on my back." She told the girl. "And don't hug me again."

Rin scrambled onto Kagami's back. "But Kagami-sama, how can you change into a bird?" Rin questioned, feeling rather puzzled.

"As I said before, I'm a sort of shape shifter. Besides, its easier to travel this way." Kagami reminded. "Now hold on tight. We are going to fly!"

Rin looked around for something to hold onto, finally settling for the feathers on Kagami's neck. Kagami winced, but did not say anything. She hopped out off the cave and took off into the air, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her feathers. "Now lets go look for your Sesshoumaru-sama."

---

Sesshoumaru walked along the banks of the river, keeping an eye out for any sign of Rin. He looked up into the sky and he caught a glimpse of something white.

….? A bird?

---

Rin blinked as she looked down, then tugged on Kagami's feathers even harder. "Sesshoumaru-sama! Its Sesshoumaru-sama!!!" She cried out, pointing to the figure with white hair on the ground and proceeded to start waving frantically.

Kagami winced again. _Ow. I wish she would stop tugging on those darn feathers. _That had hurt. Maybe she would change into a dragon or something when she had to fetch a child somewhere again. Not that such a thing was going to happen again of course. She flapped her wings and started to descend.

---

Rin?! Rin was sitting on the bird's back… Sesshoumaru's hand began to glow. Damn that bird, it must be the mate of the crow I killed last night. He raised his hand and his whip appeared. He waited until the bird was close enough, then neatly sliced its head off.

Rin lost her balance and tumbled off the suddenly headless Kagami. Luckily the ground was soft, or else she might have been seriously bruised. She glanced at Sesshoumaru-sama, then at the already disintegrating Kagami. _Oh no! Sesshoumaru-sama has killed Kagami-sama!! _She stood still in shock.

Sesshoumaru turned away from the bird. "Come, Rin." He said, noticing that Rin looked rather stunned. _Hm, I should inform Jaken to take better care of her. Events like these are not good for the mental health of human children._

Rin sniffled, then noticed something shiny on the ground. _Eh? A mirror!_ She thought as she picked it up carefully. It was a rather small mirror, about the size of her palm. It had a wooden frame and there seemed to be some sort of animal carved into the wood. Only it was so small that she couldn't see what animal was it.

"Rin!" Sesshoumaru called, he was beginning to get very impatient.

Rin slowly walked over to Sesshoumaru's side, instead of her usual happy skipping. She would follow Sesshoumaru-sama wherever he went. But she did wish, with all her heart, that he had not killed Kagami-sama. Although she had only met her for less than a day, Rin had liked Kagami. She was like the big sister Rin never had.

The two of them started to follow the river upstream, a very glad Jaken giving thanks to whatever god there was following them and leading Ah-Un.

---

Authors Note: Chapter 3 all done now! And once again, I give a very big thank you to my reviewers. And no, the story doesn't end here. We still have chapters upon chapters to go!

Christa's muse: Boo.

thwaps muse Anyway, I think Kagami sounds very Mary-Sue. I hope she isn't one, because she's going to be an important character. And please, please, PLEASE review! You can tell me if you hate it.

Anyway, the chapters seem to be getting longer and longer. I'm on roll here! Although I'm very offended at my mother telling me that its stupid to fantasize over things like Sesshoumaru at my age. Feh, at least I have imagination.

Anyway, to all my reviewers, thank you and please continue to review. Tell your friends about my fic if you like it! showers them with cookies

Until we meet again in Chapter 4!


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